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Live blog: Fans arrested for endangering riders on Alpe d’Huez; Ex-pro’s journey from paracetamol to MDMA; Video of crash that forced Nibali to abandon + more
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Fri, Jul 20, 2018 14:30
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Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn’t especially like cake.
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Latest Comments
Rendel Harris 3 minutes ago
@Bungle_52 The truck driver is, of course, making a meaningful journey from A to B, so...
mdavidford 1 hour ago
Except that it doesn't say anything about fire risk, and unassisted bikes can just as easily be ridden in a dangerous manner (in which case, punish the offenders, not everyone else). They don't seem to have given any particular reason* for it, apart from a vague reference to changes in the law. If they'd said "There's a fire risk from dodgy ones and we don't have the capacity to check which are which" then people might not be so annoyed. As it is, it just gives the impression that they've made an arbitrary decision without much thought or reasoning at all. Tim, on the other hand, is just trouble, and deserves to have special measures taken against him. [* Apparently there was a letter to parents that hasn't been posted, but whatever the contents of that, it doesn't seem to have made the reasoning any clearer to them, judging by the social media comments.]
mdavidford 1 hour ago
Fair enough - sometimes it's more obvious to them as is writing than them as is reading.
SarahKC 2 hours ago
I'm intrigued what the data says for Scotland. Last year in Stirling, I had my bike (plus tailfin setup and camping kit) removed from the station cycle park and left against a rail to see if I noticed it. Thankfully I did and quickly made my way to get my train. I reported it online to PS when I got home, it was left for less than a hour and I mentioned that as a solo female traveller the most unnerving bit, was someone clearly watching me. Despite it being logged and a PS email to arrange a call back, the call back never came. They then had the nerve to text me a response questionnaire on how they'd done.
Bungle_52 2 hours ago
@mdavidford This is the instagram post. All seems very reasonable to me in view of the fire risk the batteries pose and the possibility of scooters and e-bikes being ridden in a dangerous manner when it's crowded at the start and end of the day. Children are still being encouraged to cycle to school but I'm a bit concerned that they are singling out tim for the lunch ban.
Cycloid 2 hours ago
@mdavidford I thought you may have detected a hint of sarcasm there! Seriously though the standard of driving is much higher in London than Marrakesh.
Simon Withers 2 hours ago
That's terrifying!! I'm pretty sure I'd have ridden (or perhaps fallen or jumped) into the concrete ditch on the right; I wouldn't have even tried to stay on the carriageway. ********** Years ago in Laos I was riding into Vang Vieng at about 15mph when a lorry came straight towards me at full pelt (I was on the correct - right - side of the road). I made the instant decision to ride into the water-filled ditch on my right that ran immediately parallel to the road, having no idea of its depth. The water was only about 10 inches deep and I slowed down covered in muck but still upright. I then went back to see why the driver had chosen my side of the road, as he wasn't overtaking. Turns out there wasn't his side of the road - just a massive hole where it had been...
Bungle_52 2 hours ago
Whenever I see a near miss like this I can't stop myself thinking of all the excuses, sorry, reasons the police might give for not taking action if it happened in this country. List so far : We are not allowed to judge distances so we don't know how close the lorry was. At this point the lorry driver is going to have to inconvenience somebody. Lorry didn't cross the white line so it was the cyclists fault for not being in the cycle lane. Lorry was established. A close pass is not an offence. Am I getting cynical in my old age? Well done to the cyclist for staying alive.
MaxiMinimalist 2 hours ago
This short sample of bargains tells the cycling community that retail prices are way too expensive. As fot Giant, they seem unable to get rid of their ageing inventory.
mitsky 2 hours ago
"...the delivery lorry in his lane, attempting to overtake another lorry..." "...the lorry does not decelerate or seek to move back to its own lane..." but "... as the driver narrowly avoids him." Come on @Callum Devereux Do better.
18 thoughts on “Live blog: Fans arrested for endangering riders on Alpe d’Huez; Ex-pro’s journey from paracetamol to MDMA; Video of crash that forced Nibali to abandon + more”
That Nibali incident is
That Nibali incident is outrageous. How can so called fans sleep at night knowing that they’ve caused the retirement of a GC contender? These are not fans, they’re animals.
Same goes for the twat in the
Same goes for the twat in the green shorts who gave Froome a sideways push as he rode past.
srchar wrote:
He got busted! https://as.com/ciclismo/2018/07/19/tour_francia/1532020428_071632.html
These “fans” are a disgrace
These “fans” are a disgrace
I can only assume these are the same fans who accuse Team Sky of ruining the sport.
Sometimes I wonder if the French would be happier with a Tour de France with only French riders. Though, I’m sure they’d still be unhappy if a Frenchman from a different département won.
Canyon48 wrote:
I expect the one who pushed Froomedog was, but the one who took out Nibali wasn’t. I assume you didn’t think through that one properly.
don simon wrote:
That was the one I was referring to 😛
I’m not sure what was going on with all the flags though, Bardet was having a pretty tough time with flags on long poles being draped in his face quite a few times.
Well that’s cleared that one
Well that’s cleared that one up then…
cant really see the crash,
cant really see the crash, but what it does show is how much of a complete of time videoing anything on a mobile phone is.
enjoy the moment, dont waste your time getting a few flashy images of very little..
Trying to pick my way through
Trying to pick my way through that footage above it looks like Nibali’s bars may have caught on a camera strap flapping around loosely rather than out of the way around someone’s neck! Feel for him, shit way to leave the event.
Stepping through the video it
Stepping through the video it appears Nibali either got caught on something dangling from the crowd or was directly pushed. He was not that close to the motorbikes or other riders.
He falls a fraction of a second after this frame.
When these Grand Tour
When these Grand Tour organisers going to supervise the crowds on these stages is when hell freezes over probably, now that they have partly caused a top rider to retire! Wtf?
Good work Watlina, I only saw
Good work Watlina, I only saw that Nibali was out of shot when he actually fell. Your still frame looks like a flag getting caught in his back wheel.
The person dragging Nibali to his feet was certainly well-intentioned, and maybe it was necessary to get him out of the road for his own safety. It’s not the ideal procedure where there’s a back injury, though.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
It looks nasty when he goes down. Because of his slow speed he just falls straight down sideways on to the road. You can see the pain as he puts his hand straight on to his back. Can’t belive he actually carried on.
Seeing the Dutch fans yet
Seeing the Dutch fans letting flares off in the faces of the lead rider on Wednesday and again on D’huez, this is an assault and those letting them off should be arrested and heavily fined.
RIP to Monty Young, yet another of the old guard to pass away, there are so few left now from those heady days of the late 40s/50s/60s. Glad that Condor live on and in their original address.
As for the Kiwi druggie, sounds like the judge is another wet through type, yeah remorseful my arese, remoreseful that he was caught. Should have got a far heavier sentence, don’t want skanks like that ‘reconnecting’ with cycling thank you very much!
You say that but the phone
You say that but the phone videos are the best shots we have of the Nibali crash.
Enjoy the racing and maybe set your phone on video but try and take it all in. Whenever I’ve been on the Alpe it’s been a great day but you need the TV coverage to show you what actually happened. Live sport is all too fast.
And yes anyone with a flare needs to be arrested. You’d think that would be pretty easy.
fenix wrote:
You are quite right. Unfortunately (I speak from experience having lived in France for over 20 years) the way the Gendarmerie opperates is to nothing to prevent offences being commited, and often stand around and watch them happening, and then act afterwards if they decide to act, ie are directed to.
<pedantry_alert>
Re: “Glad that Condor live on and in their original address” – As I first remember it, back when some of us still lived in black & white and Madame Thatcher was in her grisly pomp…Condor Cycles used to be on the other side of Grays Inn Road, I can then remember them moving to a larger address a couple of doors along – before they moved to their current location.
</pedantry_alert>
HowardR wrote:
You may be right, but whatever, Condors always were, and still are quality*, wherever the exact location of their shop was.
*For the definition of quality, please read “Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance”